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Chicago-Restaurants I Wish Would Open


LAZ

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When I saw this wish list topic, I thought it was something else.

Here's my list of restaurants I wish would open:

A Jewish-style delicatessen/restaurant with food as good as Manny's but full-fledged (i.e., offering smoked fish, bagels, carryout, etc.), on the North Side, and open for dinner.

Late-night/24-hour spots beyond diners and taquerias.

Any 24-hour restaurants in the NW 'burbs.

A full-service Brazilian place that's not a churrascaria. Sinha is doing brunch on Sundays now -- that's something.

Portuguese.

Burmese.

Indonesian, with rijstaffel.

Swiss, with rosti, raclette, etc.

Richtree Market, or something like it.

Upscale Chinese.

City-quality food of any kind in the NW suburbs.

LAZ

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Great topic.

My wish list:

1. NY style pizza. Not thin crust. Honest to goodness triangular shaped slices that flop around and you can fold in half to eat.

2. Decent chinese delivery in the Belmont/Halsted area.

3. Greek diners. Jersey style.

4. Ramen joints. And, as a sub-point, more traditional Japanese places (a la Matsumoto) rather than the current trend of "hip" places.

5. Upscale seafood (along the lines of Le Bernardin).

-Josh

Now blogging at http://jesteinf.wordpress.com/

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I'm with you on this LAZ; especially as it pertains to the (NW) suburbs. It's "Hot Wheel City" out here! :shock:

The Indonesian/Rijstaffel would be tremendous as would be a full-service, north side, Manny's-esque-type place. Sam & Hy's on Dempster used to come close (never quite as good as Manny's, though) and Barnum and Bagel just ain't even close. For whatever reasons, this just isn't a good deli town, even though it really should be. For all intents and purposes Shapiro's may be the best deli in Chicago :wink::biggrin:

Unfortunately, it seems that "new" (aka new to this market) is hard to come by. When something relatively original does finally pop-up and succeed, it merely gets imitated into oblivion (case in point, the aforementioned churrascarias) or dies on the vine from lack of mainstream interest. I wish more folks were willing to take chances. I guess that's easy to say when it's not my money taking the risk, but as a diner at least, I'm always willing (hell, eager) to try something new and I make a point of doing so as often as I possibly can.

Ultimately, I suppose that the best outlets for true ethnic cuisines rely (at least initially) on their respective constituencies. Maybe in 5-10 years, the landscape will look a lot different than it does today. It is happening slowly in some quarters but personally, I'd like my rijstaffel now! :smile:

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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I would love it if a doner kebob place would open up. Like the kind they have in Europe (Germany, especially). There are great shwarmas & gyros to be had but no doner kebabs. (at least not that I'm aware of)

Edited by viaChgo (log)
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Great topic.

My wish list:

3.  Greek diners.  Jersey style.

Have you been to the Palace Grill on Madison near the stadium?

Greeks -- my dad's cousins -- and lots of attitude (and fun). To me the quintessential diner and a Chicago classic... all of the old pols eat there, and even Gorbachov when he was doing his Perestroika tour.

Say hi to George.

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Great topic.

My wish list:

3.  Greek diners.  Jersey style.

Have you been to the Palace Grill on Madison near the stadium?

Greeks -- my dad's cousins -- and lots of attitude (and fun). To me the quintessential diner and a Chicago classic... all of the old pols eat there, and even Gorbachov when he was doing his Perestroika tour.

Say hi to George.

No, never been. Does it meet the following criteria?

1. Menu at least 3 inches thick

2. Gravy fries available

3. Lemon chicken soup always available

4. Full bar

-Josh

Now blogging at http://jesteinf.wordpress.com/

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For the north suburbs ('cause that's where I live):

Real BBQ joints.

Doesn't Hecky's count?

Maybe if they didn't drench everything in sauce and had better sides...

Still, Hecky's works. But I crave "Suthrin" BBQ - and banana pudding for dessert!

George,

It sounds like you're in need of a full-on pig pick'n!

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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George,

It sounds like you're in need of a full-on pig pick'n!

=R=

"Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here, the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you're the cause of all this. I think you're evil! EVIL!"

:biggrin:

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My Wish List for Chicagoland:

1. In N Out Burger (multple locations)

2. In lieu of the above, a Paradise Pup that's open evenings and Sundays.

3. Upscale-ish authentic Chinese food (but not $$$$ like Shanghai Terrace).

4. "Babbo Chicago"--a New York transplant that we'd love. Instead we got Bluewater Grill and China Grill. Ugh.

5. Vietnamese food in the N/NW suburbs. (This might be my number one wish.)

6. Upscale/contemporary Scandanavian restaurant like Gustav Anders in SoCal or Aquavit in NYC. Maybe a fine-dining place on one side of the restaurant and an authentic smorgasbord on the other (a Nordic Topolo/Frontera, if you will).

7. Reeeeeeally good dim sum served in a clean environment with acceptable service. Heck, I'd even settle for bad service and sticky tables if the dim sum was first-rate. The best we have is just "good."

8. River North/Loop branches of Joy Yee's, Aloha Grill and Hot Doug's so I'll have some more affordable-but-good lunch options near the office.

9. An Isabella's (Geneva) in Chicago or the N/NW burbs.

10. "Grant Achatz' To Go"...a deli with no sign, impeccable counter service, unbelievably complex reheating/serving instructions, disposable anti-plates and scented pillows, and dozens and dozens of little cartons. :laugh:

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Great topic.

My wish list:

1.  NY style pizza.  Not thin crust.  Honest to goodness triangular shaped slices that flop around and you can fold in half to eat.

I couldn't agree more. It's one of the things I must have when I go home to NY because I miss it so much.

I like cows, too. I hold buns against them. -- Bucky Cat.

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Here are some Grecian diners that may serve, although I'm not sure about the gravy fries and lemon-chicken soup (they do all have big menus and Athenian chicken):

Omega

847/296-7777

Golf Glen, 9100 W. Golf Road,

Niles IL 60714

24 hours

Melrose

773/327-2060

3233 N. Broadway St.

Chicago IL 60657

24 hours

And while it's not quite Vietnamese in the suburbs, Nam Viet is just south of Park Ridge in Edison Park.

Nam Viet

773/763-0307

6731 N. Northwest Highway

Chicago, IL 60631

Also, not quite in the suburbs, Bar-B-Que Bob's in Rogers Park is first-rate -- much better than Hecky's and even has a few tables. Great ribs with a light glaze of sauce, good sides (excellent greens) and wonderful pies.

Bar-B-Que Bob's

773/761-1260

Howard-Hoyne Plaza

2055 W. Howard St.

Chicago, IL 60645

LAZ

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George,

It sounds like you're in need of a full-on pig pick'n!

=R=

"Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here, the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you're the cause of all this. I think you're evil! EVIL!"

:biggrin:

:biggrin: LOL! :biggrin:

I agree about Hecky's. It'll certainly do in a pinch and there's no question he's cooking over real wood. It's a quality shop. But his sauce is just wrong and his sides are fairly inconsistent.

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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7. Reeeeeeally good dim sum served in a clean environment with acceptable service. Heck, I'd even settle for bad service and sticky tables if the dim sum was first-rate. The best we have is just "good."

Try Furama at Argyle and Broadway? It is clean, and the service is good. The food is good, and if your favorite is not circulating at the moment, they'll whip some up up for you (like whole clams steamed with black beans :biggrin: )

S. Cue

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I hope you won't consider this off topic......the one food source I want the MOST.........is a Chicagoland Granville Island (but a little more upscale). I'd drive 3 hours one way, every week just to shop there on my day off. I want quality ingredients...........shelfs of the best chocolates, shelfs of handmade pasta, a real gourmet source.

A one stop visit to a market that has the best produce, pasta, meat, seafood, herbs, teas, coffees, etc... with a few artisian shops thrown in for fun. The dining/cafeteria section would have our best restaurants and bakeries selling 'to go' items.

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I hope you won't consider this off topic......the one food source I want the MOST.........is a Chicagoland Granville Island (but a little more upscale). I'd drive 3 hours one way, every week just to shop there on my day off. I want quality ingredients...........shelfs of the best chocolates, shelfs of handmade pasta, a real gourmet source.

A one stop visit to a market that has the best produce, pasta, meat, seafood, herbs, teas, coffees, etc... with a few artisian shops thrown in for fun. The dining/cafeteria section would have our best restaurants and bakeries selling 'to go' items.

Wendy, Have you tried Fox and Obel? I think it's a really great spot. I was quite skeptical about it before I went in but the place proved to be really top-notch. They carry dry-aged Allen Brothers meats and their bread baker studied directly under Nancy Silverton. They carry a wide range of superior-quality products in almost every category. If you've never been there, I highly recommend it.

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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I've lived here 11 years and everytime I want BBQ I get on a plane and fly to Kansas City (as it's closer than TX, Memphis, and S. Carolina--love that mustard BBQ sauce).

Another thing lacking in Chicago that I love is pan-fried chicken (like Stroud's in KC, or Chicken Annies or Chicken Mary's in Pittsburg, KS.)

The only other type of food I found lacking in Chicago was pizza (I'm not into "Chicago-style, deep dish pizza); then I found Pizza DOCs. I make it there a couple of time a month and the rest of the time it's home-made onion, artichoke and goat cheese on a crunch Saveur crust.

"the only thing we knew for sure about henry porter was that his name wasn't henry porter" : bob

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My wish list:

1.  NY style pizza.  Not thin crust.  Honest to goodness triangular shaped slices that flop around and you can fold in half to eat

Try Cafe Luigi's on North Clark -- floppy and greasy, just like the East-Coasters like it!

Edited by amclaud (log)
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I really can't gripe (too much) about Chicago eats. But I can wish for the same in the suburbs:

1. For downtown lunches, a soba/ramen stall just like in Tokyo. Mostly stand up with coin operated ticket machines. Tempora soba/ miso raman made as you order. Quick and yummy.

2. El Nuevo Leon in the North Shore and/ or good 24 hour taco/enchilada joint.

3. A cheap Thai/vietnamese byob cafe in downtown Winnetka.

4. Good BBQ-(disappointed with Hecky's and Little Ricky's).

5. A french bistro ( way,way lower scale than Miramar)-a true neighborhood hang out with limited menu. Early morning cafe and croissants, country pates and terrines and onion soup for lunch and steak frites, country stews or mussels for dinner with plenty of house vin rouge served in carafes and crusty french bread (with french butter).

6. Rosati's carry out pizza within 6 miles.

7. Decent Chinese carry out with terrific egg rolls.

8. Artemis (Mt. Prospect) greek diner in Northen suburbs.

What disease did cured ham actually have?

Megan sandwich: White bread, Miracle Whip and Italian submarine dressing. {Megan is 4 y.o.}

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